Why This Site?

In 1994 I adopted a 16 year old cat who I thought I would only have for 1-2 years but at the amazing age of 26 she finally had to be euthanased due to a bladder tumour. Never did I ever think that when I first met this beautiful, feisty old grey and white cat that she would teach me so much and give me many wonderful years.

This website is designed to help those who find themselves in the same situation as I did and is based on my true experiences, but firstly I would like to tell you our story.

Clary's Story
I used to work in a Veterinary Practice in Surrey, on a Saturday morning whilst at work a client came in to ask if we would do some emergency boarding for one of our elderly client’s cat as she had to go into hospital and was refusing until she knew Clary would be safe. As we had just recently added a cattery to our practice we agreed so the following Monday this frail old cat was brought in making a hideous noise (objecting to being in her basket of course), I took her to her bed not knowing that this was the same cat I would make house calls to (in order to give her medication when she needed it) and immediately fell in love with her. Now some would ask why this tiny, thin angry old cat won a place in my heart and for those who were privileged enough to meet her would know why.

I took sole responsibility for her and spent many hours sitting with her, after 10 weeks of care the owners son reluctantly came in to ask if we would euthanase her as he was unable to find her a new home. This just made me want to cry and I convinced the vet to wait to see if I could find her a home. At the time I already had 2 other cats that were happy and content as they were so taking another cat home was not an option (or so I thought). After many sleepless nights and endless rejections to give Clary a home I finally decided that I owed it to her to make her golden years as comfortable and happy as possible even if it was for a short time, so one evening after work we started our new life together.

I’m not saying it was easy letting a new, elderly, female cat into my home especially when my other two boys were so young compared to her but however it was the start of a friendship I will never forget.

Each year I had Clary was like winning the lottery but with some years came sickness and lots more sleepless nights but is something I would do again without hesitation (well I have done it many times with many more elderly cats with an assortment of medical problems).

Well there you have it, Clary’s story; I hope it inspires you to always think about taking on an elderly cat even if you think it may only be for a short time. I always felt and still do that a short time is always better than no time.

So what did I do that was different, well apart from giving her the special place in my bed there are many things you can do to assist your elderly cat through those precious, golden years but firstly the most important one of all is regular Veterinary examinations depending on the age of your cat this could be anything from 3-6 months, your Veterinary Practice can advise you on the best healthcare program for your cat. For me it started as every 6 months and as Clary got older it was every 3 months.